27.06.2014 - 11:41
The crisis within the Socialists Party of Catalonia (PSC) may become even more acute this weekend. Joan Ignasi Elena, who last week announced that he was leaving the PSC, has now decided to maintain his seat in the Parliament of Catalonia and become a non-affiliated member, instead of giving up his seat as the PSC board is asking him. He will announce his definitive decision during Avancem‘s general assembly, which will be held Saturday in Sant Feliu de Codines. MP Núria Ventura, who is also part of Avancem, is considering a similar course of action. If this were to happen, PSC would slip to fourth position in the parliament, with 18 MPs, behind PP who has 19.
Elena and the other members of Avancem consider that there is no reason to give up the seat, since they have remained loyal to the commitments that PSC made in its electoral platform which defends the right to decide of the Catalan people. It is a weighty argument, and made stronger by the fact that the coming months will prove decisive, in a legislature that may qualify itself as a constituent body, that is, a legislation in which Catalonia defines a new political situation.
If Elena does not give up his seat, the block of MPs that are in favor of the November 9th referendum will become stronger: the 87 MPs today comprised of CiU, ERC, ICV-EUiA and CUP would be 88 with Elena or 89 if Ventura follows his lead. Avancem thinks that it is very unlikely that the third pro-referendum MP from PSC, Marina Geli, takes this step as well.
The position of the PSC in the parliament will become very complicated, because it will lose even more strength. But Elena’s situation is not at all simple: as a non-affiliated MP he will have little influence and will have very limited opportunities to address the chamber, according to parliamentary rules. Any possibilities to speak before the parliament will depend on the board of spokespeople of the parliament, with respect to his choice of vote, or to ask questions of the president of the Catalan Government.
Avancem continues on its path outside the PSC
The future situation of Elena and Ventura is not only decisive inside the parliament. Avancem, which is comprised mostly of PSC and ex-PSC members, has been reaching out in the last few days to ICV, ERC, and Nova Esquerra Catalana (NEC) in order to come to agreements with respect to upcoming municipal elections and with the general idea of refounding Catalan socialism. Avancem is committed to speaking to all of these formations in order to see if it is possible to forge electoral coalitions in some municipalities.
Now, Avancem, according to the political statement that it will put to a vote this weekend, is proposing to be “an instrument for contributing to making possible the Government of Catalonia”. And more concretely, with the desire to “govern the coming Catalonia, in agreement with other governmental forces”.
The association wants to carry this out through a ‘reconstruction of the Catalan left” but in contrast to Agrupament Socialista [Socialist Gathering] and other dissenting groups within the PSC, it has decided to make an attempt from outside the party, after having tried doing it within. For that reason, they say that they want to enter a new political space: “With a unitary vision. With the will to gather together again the group of Catalan socialists. With the idea of weaving agreements and alliances with other realities.”
